We did the Mardi Gras for the week of Thanksgiving. Overall impression is positive and would recommend this great ship. As with anything there were a few downs. We did a Port Canaveral park and ride a couple of miles from the port. We had a 12:30 – 1:00 arrival and got to the parking lot about 12:00 – the lines were really long and instead of waiting a couple of hours for shuttles to run back and forth we grabbed an Uber who took us the back roads through the residential areas to get right to the port within minutes. Embarkation was a breeze. We arrived about 12:40 and there was no one in line to board. Walked right in and up to the man at the table taking your documents and right on in to board. Muster stations have changed over the years and with this you went right to your muster station, listened to a 90 second speech about how to put on your life jacket and you were done! S&S cards are now at your cabin door which isn’t ready until 1:30 but you can still take advantage of the Cheers package right away just by giving the bar tender your room number.

Rooms seemed to me QUITE a bit smaller than previous ships we’ve been on. The closets were better with lots of storage, bins, racks and pull outs which is a plus and the tiny bathroom had a great shower with an actual door. Improvement! The beds were sooo comfortable. We were on the 10th deck and my favorite part of a balcony room is to sit out and enjoy the peace and beauty of the ocean view. Our room was two decks up from the smoking section which extends out further than our room. So you looked over your balcony to the smokers and the lights and the noise. This was the worst balcony room I’ve ever had. If we left our door open to the room, on more populated nights the smoke smell could be detected in our room. I absolutely hate cigarette smoke so this was a huge bummer. I told my travel agent about it so she doesn’t book other non smokers in this area.

The deal killer of the ship for my family were the elevators. They were AWFUL and always full or didn’t stop as you watched them roll by. You could be standing there waiting and door opened up on the end and people would rush by you to grab them despite you obviously standing there waiting. People who had scooters were really screwed waiting for any elevator that had any space or people rushing past to jump on. I take steps for all of my goings so it didn’t bother me much but the rest of my family were so put out. I would literally go up 7 flights of stairs and beat them by 5 minutes. Taking the banks of elevators in the back or front seemed a bit better. Read more